Guest post by Jackie Byrnes and David Estupinan. All images by David Andrew Morris.

"Prepare for launch" were the three words that designers in the Boston metro area first read as they went down the stairs to the Design Museum Boston Launch party. The lounge at West End Johnnie's downstairs bar was as informative as the website itself, having a wall-sized poster of the organization's mission and purpose.

Design Museum Boston is nothing like your typical museum. The launch party let anyone unfamiliar with the project know their take on exactly what a design museum should be—a museum that is all about design, created by designers. Outside the lounge, a team of student volunteers like us made final preparations as *launch* time approached. It wasn't too long before everyone had been assigned a job—or post—from where we would appreciate the magnitude of the design community in Boston, together in one spot.

The Design Museum Boston initiative was remarkably well received, drawing a crowd of over 300 people from a multitude of design disciplines, including industrial, graphic, and architecture. It's the sort of movement that the design community in Massachusetts has been looking for. More importantly, it's an idea that stirred up designers, professors and students, demonstrating the huge potential for collaboration and support that's already out there.

Throughout the night, founders Sam Aquillano from Bose and Derek Cascio from Philips Color Kinetics, showed us their vision of what Design Museum Boston will eventually be. This included pop up exhibits filling empty retail spaces all across New England, bringing the museum to where people are buying their products. The launch effectively creates the momentum needed to move forward with the goals of the museum and hopefully, it will spark up other minds to join in, contribute and help move design in Boston from the virtual to the physical world.

Join in the conversation and learn how to get involved at designingamuseum.ning.com.

More shots after the jump!